In a worrying sign for US President Donald Trump and his Republican party, a new survey found that an overwhelming majority of Indian-Americans plan to vote for the Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections in November.
The survey conducted by the AAPI Data found that 66% of Indian-Americans plan to vote for Democratic candidates in House of Representatives elections, while 22% said they would back Republicans. In Senate elections, 66% of Indian-Americans plan to vote for Democrats, compared with 18% for Republicans.
Support for the Democrats among the Indian diaspora is among the highest among Asian-American communities, the survey found.
Also read: Republicans are worried about the midterms. Trump is focused on his legacy.
Drop in support for Trump from Indian-Americans
For Trump, the survey reflects a drop in support from a community that shifted towards him during the 2024 presidential election. Although roughly 2 million Indian-Americans have remained solid supporters of the Democratic party, a Carnegie Endowment survey conducted just before the 2024 poll had found that 32% of the community planned to back Trump as support for the Democrats fell back then.
Support for Trump was more pronounced among Indian-American men, with roughly 40% of those surveyed saying that they planned to vote for him.
{{/usCountry}}Support for Trump was more pronounced among Indian-American men, with roughly 40% of those surveyed saying that they planned to vote for him.
{{/usCountry}}The survey — which largely focused on voters of Asian origin — found that economic issues like the cost of living and inflation topped the list of voter concerns, alongside healthcare, crime and racism.
Out of those questioned, 78% indicated that war and foreign policy were important or extremely important at a time when Washington remains entangled in the costly conflict with Iran.
Also read: Iran war impact on upcoming US midterm elections worries Republicans
Crucially, Asian-American voters surveyed said they trust the Democrats more than Republicans on most of their key concerns by significant margins. For example, 44% of those surveyed expected the Democrats to do a better job managing cost of living and inflation with only 18% believing the Republicans would handle matters more effectively.
Trump himself remains significantly unpopular with Asian-American voters, with 70% seeing him unfavourably.
AAPI Data’s survey findings are supported by the results of other polls. A 2026 report by the Carnegie Endowment found that 71% of Indian-Americans surveyed disapproved of Trump’s performance in the first year of his second term in the White House.
A majority of them disagreed with the Trump administration’s signature economic policies, including tariffs, as well as his handling of immigration issues.
To be sure, identification with the Democratic party also declined between 2020 and 2026 from 52% to 46% as support for the party has waned. But this remained significantly above identification with the Republicans, which stood at 19% in 2026.
Racism plays big role
Indian-Americans have also been worried about rising racism in the United States, particularly from far-right members of Trump’s coalition.
Of the Indian-Americans who did not identify as Republicans, 27% said that they did not support the party because it is intolerant of minorities, which represented a 10% point increase from 2024.